I recently built a new rig using the below CM Storm Enforcer case that comes with an internal USB 3.0 cable that is designed to connect directly to the Intel DZ68BC motherboards internal MM labeled connection.

I just tried a new Adata S102 16GB USB 3.0 flash drive in one of the 2 front Storm Enforcer 3.0 ports and they do not function properly. But when i test the Adata Flash Drive out in one of the rear USB 3.0 DZ68BC I/O ports it works just fine. When i do attempt to use one of the front case 3.0 ports the Device Manager will attempt to recognize the device but eventually it just drops out.

Below is pics of the Coolermaster Storm Enforcer case and also pics of the internal Case USB 3.0 cable and its connector designed to plug directly to the MM connection of the DZ68BC motherboard and the front two Case 3.0 ports.

BTW the Adata Flash drive works fine in any of the USB 2.0 ports along with the rear USB 3.0 ports but just not the front 3.0 ports.

I cant figure this one out ? The connector will only plug in one way and all the wiring is intact and latest drivers from the windows 7 OS installed.

I saw that thread before i posted this similar problem. Unlike that member who was running XP i am running Windows 7 64bit and right after installing the OS i installed all the current drivers which included the latest USB 3.0 drivers for the DZ68BC motherboard. I did send an e-mail to Coolermaster just in case it could be a problem with the front Storm Enforcer 3.0 ports or the supplied internal cable they employ with the case to be hooked directly to the motherboards internal USB 3.0 header. I have read the various released BIOS updates that Intel has posted and i have not seen or read anything in regards to the rear I/O USB 3.0 ports working properly but the internal USB 3.0 header NOT functioning properly. The same updated USB 3.0 version driver is used for both locations on the motherboard to my knowledge and i have not read anything to the contrary.

I did try to use the Intel Live Chat with a rep to discuss the problem and lets just say i would rather not even comment on his suggestions which IMO were absurd and could not have possibly been written by a qualified tech.

Without the technical help we find from folks on this forum most problems would never be resolved.

OK, I checked and discovered that now my DZ68BC internal USB 3 header is not functioning properly either! (But I'm pretty sure it worked when I first build-up my system in December.)

Even connected through an adapter directly to the motherboard header, neither a USB 3 flash drive nor a USB 3 external hard disk is recognized. Yet both devices work as expected when connected to the rear USB 3 connectors. Adding to the mystery is the fact that USB 2 devices connected to the internal USB 3 header are recognized and work as they should, so the header hardware must be (at least partly) functional. This suggests that there is some problem with the USB 3 hardware or drivers that affects the internal header but not the rear connectors. For me, the problem manifests itself both in Windows 7 and Linux, so if this is a software problem it's probably at the BIOS level. (I'm running BIOS 0027 since the recent 0028 updater fails to run on my machine.)

Hopefully someone from Intel will help us diagnose and resolve this issue.

I did order the below adapter in order to plug it directly into the DZ68BC internal MB usb3.0 internal header and then attempt as you describe to plug a known working USB 3.0 flash drive in it inside the case enclosure for testing purposes. I have not received the adapter as yet since it is coming from HK but this will eliminate the possibility of the problem being the Coolermaster cable, connectors, or front usb3.0 ports as the problem.

As you i suspect the problem to be with the DZ68BC MB but after receiving suggestions from the Intel LiveChat that i might have a grounded MB and i should re-check the front usb 3.0 devices with the MB removed from the case enclosure i pretty much gave up on getting any direct support from Intel.

I received the below USB 3.0 adapter today and as suspected plugged it into the DZ68BC internal motherboards USB 3.0 header and then plugged a known working Adata 16gb USB 3.0 flash drive in the adapter and it will NOT work properly. This device works just fine when using the rear DZ68BC USB 3.0 I/O ports.

This problem is definitely within the Intel DZ68BC MB and not the Coolermaster front USB 3.0 case ports, connectors, or cabling.

So my question is why Intel will not address this known issue ? I am definitely not the only owner of this MB that has this exact problem.

No Bios updates corrects the issue. The MB is NOT grounded. The problem is NOT 3rd party case manaufacturers. The rear DZ68BC Ports work just fine and the front Coolermaster case USB 3.0 ports will also if you route the cables from the rear MB I/O USB 3.0 ports to the front case ports.

Ron, I'm curious to see if our symptoms match: did you try plugging a USB 2 flash drive into the internal adapter to see if it works? On my DZ68BC, the internal USB 3 header works properly with USB 2 devices even though it fails to recognize USB 3 drives.

Ron, this morning i tried your suggestion by plugging in a known working Kingston 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive into the Front CoolerMaster USB 3.0 ports and also plugged it into the USB 3.0 female adapter directly into the DZ68BC MB header and YES it worked just fine as a USB 2.0 device in the USB 3.0 designated ports. So our symptons are exactly identical which continues to indicate a problem within the DZ68BC MB internal USB 3.0 header only. Bear in mind though as im sure you know all USB 3.0 devices are backwards compatible to USB 2.0 so using a USB 2.0 device in a USB 3.0 designated port is supposed to work still providing normal USB 2.0 transfer rates.

So this leaves the DZ68BC internal USB 3.0 header totally useless as advertised and sold to the paying consumer.

One thing for sure is i would NOT go to the trouble of exchanging the DZ68BC with another under warranty since i guarantee it would NOT resolve the defective MB issue we both have. I can only speculate that Intel assumes this would be the position of most consumers and is the reason they have done nothing to resolve the known issue of the DZ68BC internal USB 3.0 header not functioning with USB 3.0 devices.

I spoke with the technical folks at CoolerMaster and they assured me they have had absolutely NO problems or complaints from consumers in regards to their internally supplied USB 3.0 ports, connectors, or cabling associated with any of their product Cases. They actually sent me a brand new Front header with ports, connectors, plus cabling but as expected it did not resolve the issue since the problem is NOT with the CoolerMaster case.

So we are both back to square 1 with my 1st post and no remedy to resolve the exact same issue !

Update: This morning i did once again contact Intel via " Live Chat " and the rep has turned this issue over to the Intel engineers, so i will have to wait for an e-mail to see what they respond with. I will let you know. 3/23/2012 10:15 A.M. Central Time

I know this doesn't really help.... But whatever problem you guys are having, it doesn't affect all DZ68BC boards. The front panel USB3 on my DZ68BC is working perfectly. I have used both of the front panel USB3 ports with two different USB3 external hard drives, and with a USB3 memory stick. I do Windows 7 image backups to the external drives, so quite a bit of data and no problems.

so an adapter is necessary to convert the internal DZ68BC header to a "type A" receptacle).

* SilverStone Tek USB3 Adapter cable - Internal to External

Amazon #B005NGGKPU

* Windows7 Ultimate x64

* Renasas USB 3.0 driver 2.1.28.0, Firmware 4015

There is some kind of firmware issue that causes PCI enumeration to throw an error during each boot, but it doesn't seem to affect function. The event log shows this error at each boot: "Driver PCI returned an invalid ID for a child device (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF00). Research (as well as disabling USB3 in bios) proves that this is associated with the Renasas USB3 host controller. But again, this doesn't seem to affect function as both my front and rear panel USB3 ports work perfectly with multiple USB3 (and USB2) devices).

Since mine works... If there are any other tests or configuration information you want for comparison purposes, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide whatever I can.

Thanks Alan as usual for your help & advice but can you specifically tell me what is the difference between the adapter from Amazon below and the adapter i purchased from E-Bay for testing purposes other then a few inches of cable. The one from E-Bay states it is a 20 pin connector but it is actually 19 pins since one pin is plugged-off. They are identical.

The below is the connector coming from the front USB 3.0 ports made specifically to plug into the DZ68BC internal USB 3.0 header plus other Motherboards with an internal USB 3.0 header, and it is identical to both of the above adapters from E-Bay & Amazon:

I have spoken to owners of the Asus & Gigabyte MB`s that have the internal USB 3.0 Header and they also have the CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer case and experienced NO problems plugging the CoolerMaster Multipin connector directly in to there internal USB 3.0 Header without the need for any adapter.

Our problems are not the connectors, cabling, or pin configuration. It possibly could be the USB 3.0 Host controllers are not assigned or configured properly. Alot of the aftermarket cases as you describe dont yet supply the multipin connector i have with the Storm Enforcer case thus the reason why folks purchase the adapter you depicted from Amazon so they can use the internal Header and not have to route two single cables out to the rear I/O USB 3.0 ports.

My rig specs are identical to yours but of course my motherboard could very well be a different production line batch versus yours.

At present i do have a case number on file with the Intel engineers and hopefully will get a reply back this coming week.

I did not mean to imply the problem was with the adapter or cabling. I agree it is highlyunlikely that both your internal adapter and case cable/panel could both be defective. I posted those details only to let you know that I *do* have a similar configuration in that regard, and my USB3 ports *do* work with that configuration.

If we have the same hardware revision (G30742-401) and BIOS (0027)... Then it doesn't sound like an inherent "design" problem since my USB3 is working correctly. That would seem to leave either (1) Your board is defective, at least the USB3 portion; or (2) There is conflict or interaction with some other hardware, software, driver, or setting (different than my configuration) that affects USB3 functionality.

I was offering to do a more detailed comparison than what I posted, including various BIOS settings, other hardware installed, driver versions, some diagnostic traces of USB activity when the failure occurs, and so forth. We might very well spot some difference there that would lead to a tweak which would identify the cause, or better yet provide a solution.

Do we have the same BIOS revision? If you upgraded your BIOS, have you used the BIOS "reset to defaults" since the upgrade? What device ID's does Windows enumerate for your USB3 controllers / hubs? Do we have same usb3 firmware and usb3 drivers? Have you tried deleting the USB3 devices from device manager, and letting them be redected/reinstalled?

I know you bought the header adapter to eliminate the possibility of a defective front panel or cable. But did you delete the old USB detection data for the devices before trying the adapter? If there *was* a front panel or cable issue, it could have caused corrupt USB device detection data in the registry. Using the adapter eliminates the possibility of bad cable/panel, but the bad detection data would still exist in the registry and that can still prevent proper detection when the same USB devices are plugged into the adapter.

To truly eliminate the possibility that the cable/panel was the problem, you need to delete the "old device detections for the USB3 devices. To do this, you need to get device manager to show the "disconnected" devices by setting a system environment variable ("My computer, Properties, Advanced, Environment Variables", create new "System" variable with name "DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES" and value of "1"), then open Device Manager and checkmark "View, Show hidden devices". Now you will be able to find/delete the disconnected USB3 devices under the "Storage Volumes" and "Universal Serial Bus controllers" branches; disconnected items are "gray" so you can distinguish them from connected devices. Deleting those keys, which were generated when using the "possibly defective" cable/panel, will eliminate any bad detection parameters. Finally, plug the devices directly into the motherboard adapter again and let them be re-detected. This will regenerate the keys, and truly eliminate the cable/panel as a possible cause.

I was going to attach a DxDiag report since it includes all my top-level pci enumerations, drives, usb devices, etc.... But I don't see a way to attach files here. I am willing to take this discussion to email if you want so we can exchange files more easily.

Of course I also understand if you want to wait for the Intel case response instead, as we could both put a lot of effort into configuration comparisons and still not find the problem. But if you want to dig further for an explanation of why my USB3 works fine while yours doesn't, I'll be happy to oblige.

When we plug in any known working USB 2.0 devices into the USB 3.0 ports at the front of the CoolerMaster case or directly into the BB motherboard header they work just fine and provide USB 2.0 transfer rates. Plug a known working USB 3.0 device in and it just keeps dropping in and out and is not recognized yet it works just fine in the rear DZ68BC I/O USB 3.0 ports.

Alan this problem occurs regardless of which Bios version the user is using and none of the Bios update release notes denote any USB bugs that were fixed or resolved since this board was initially produced. You could very well be correct that a particular piece of software or driver issue has corrupted the USB 3.0 path but i am using the latest Renesa USB 3.0 drivers. I guess i could re-install them again since i have installed quite a bit of new software apps and uninstalled programs also since my initial Windows 7 install over a month ago now.

Alan i followed your guide and created the environment variables line and un-installed ALL previously detected devices that were slightly greyed out in both Storage Volumes and under USB in Device manager. I also once again d\l the latest Renesa USB 3.0 drivers and re-installed them. Shut the pc down and unplugged the Coolermaster Multipin connector from the motherboards internal header. Plugged in the Multipin test adapter and then powered up. Everything still showed fine in Device Manager and NO previously detected devices were greyed out in either Storage Volumes or under USB.

I then plugged in the known working USB 3.0 Adata 16GB flashdrive directly in the adapter at the DZ68BC internal USB 3.0 header and it appeared for a few seconds it might be working since i got the device working splash & normal audio sound in the taskbar. But unfortunately within a few more seconds it started dropping in & out once again and finally was no longer recognized. I unplugged the Adata USB 3.0 flashdrive and plugged it into one of the rear USB 3.0 ports and it works just fine.

I have not heard anything as yet from the Intel engineers in regards to the case number that was presumably turned over to them by the Intel " Live Chat " folks.

The device problem I referred to in my earlier post would not be seen as a problem in device manager. Also, unless you set the environment variable and turn on hidden device view (as described in my earlier post) then you will not see any usb devices that are not currently connected.

When you plug in a USB device, several registry keys are created for the device in the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum structure. For a USB device, they are keyed by a combination of the the devices' hardware ID and the hub/port location. Below those keys, Windows places various parameters for the hardware AS DETECTED WHEN IT WAS PLUGGED IN THE FIRST TIME. The next time the device is plugged in to the same port, the hardware ID and hub/port location are matched so the existing parameters are used. These registry keys are represented in a more friendly way as "devices" in Device Manager.

If there was a problem with detection at the initial insertion, the "bad" parameters will still be there. They will be used again when you plug the device into the same port. That *could* very well explain why the USB3 memory stick works in your back USB3 ports, but not the motherboard header ports.

Please take another look at my previous post, and consider deleting the old detection data for your USB3 devices. If you haven't done this, then you haven't really tested the "adapter alone" with the motherboard ports, because windows is still using the detection data and parameters created at the original insertion (i.e., original case cable/panel).

And again, if there are any other parameters/settings you would like to compare with my working USB3 ports, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide them.